


Growing Pains

by MarziWrites



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Corrupt Ministry, Eventual Smut, F/M, First War with Voldemort, Fluff and Angst, Hogwarts Seventh Year, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Jealousy, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Mutual Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recreational Drug Use, Secrets, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, like veeeery slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28374579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarziWrites/pseuds/MarziWrites
Summary: January, 1976.They are only children, but circumstances are forcing them to grow up much faster than expected.In the wake of an attack on Diagon Alley, an unlikely friendship is formed through the bonds of a shared secret, evoking a series of events that will alter the course of their lives.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	Growing Pains

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea swirling around my head for a while, and since I have so much free time on my hands (thanks so much to COVID for making it all the harder to find a job) I decided to finally give it a go. I'm actually quite excited about this, because I've always wanted to explore the idea that Sirius and Lily first became friends, which eventually paved the way towards James/Lily. The first chapter is basically the catalyst that leads to their friendship, and eventually to Jily. 
> 
> Fair warning: it will be a while until Jily gets together - this begins mid Sixth year. But there will most certainly be some fluff - as well as quite a few roadblocks - along the way 
> 
> I won't make any promises on how quickly this will be updated, but I'll try my very best to stick to a schedule. I'll be updating either every Saturday, or every OTHER Saturday. Depending on how much writing I'm able to churn out in a week's time, but since I'm rather excited about this fic I don't think I'll have many problems =) 
> 
> Hope you like! Leave your thoughts in the comments! 
> 
> Mar xx

**_January 1 st, 1976 _ **

Her legs wobble beneath her, struggling to hold her weight as fear, burning hot and raw, courses through her veins.

Lights whiz past her in a cacophony of colours, their origins and intended recipients lost in the frenzy of battle. Screams erupt from those who have fallen victim to the strikes, intermingling with the manic laughter of the black cloaked assailants that engulf the streets of Diagon Alley.

Lily takes one, two, three steps forward and then abruptly halts in place when the movement causes her brain to pound painfully within her skull, throbbing against her temples. She brings a hand up to her forehead, only to come away with a thick coating of blood, and it is then that she feels the heavy liquid sliding down her face.

Her heart begins to pound as the memories of a masked wizard, appearing out of thin air as she strolled down the streets towards Eeylops Owl Emporium with Mary at her side, grins callously as chaos erupted around them. The last thing she recalls is Mary’s sharp shriek as he lifted his wand and aimed it right at her.

Now, moments after she regained consciousness, the chaos has only amplified, the scent of blood permeates the air, mixing with the distinctly neutral smell of snow that falls lightly from the skies, and the palpable energy of fear and adrenaline pulses around her.

Her senses are teeming as the paradox of the striking January ambiance in the Alley plays against the backdrop of cruel and sudden carnage.

It is almost hard to believe, and if Lily weren’t entirely aware of the current political climate in their world, she’d think she were in the middle of a very realistic, very scary taping for a Muggle film.

The thought alone causes a shrill, incredulous laugh to bubble up her chest, when a single thought crosses her mind.

Where’s Mary?

She rushes forward, ducking and leaping away from lights that are flying in all directions around her, desperate as she hunts for her friend’s small, almost childlike body, but Mary is gone. She spins around in circles, keeping a keen eye out for any attacker that could turn her way and put her in their path of violence. 

Where is she?

_Where is she?!_

A memory rushes forward unbidden, of a time in the beginning of Sixth year when a battle, albeit a lot smaller and without the horrific violence this particular battle implicates, broke out in the hallway between classes. Lily herself had been unwittingly forced to participate, forced by the taunting of the Slytherin and the quickly escalating tension between her own housemates and friends and those on the opposition, and Mary had disappeared from her side not unlike today. She had found her twenty minutes later, after the Professors had rushed to the scene and broken it up, huddled behind a tapestry one hallway over, arms wrapped tightly around her knees and tears streaming down her face.

And Lily knows, without a shred of doubt, that Mary would have done the very same thing now.

She rushes anxiously through the bedlam of battling witches and wizards, once again dodging spells and praying to the God she hadn’t believed in for many years that she would find her friend alive and unharmed, and rounds a corner into a back street, leaving the chaos behind. She spots a number of frightened individuals hiding inside alleys or behind buildings, but thankfully the assailants haven’t gotten to this more remote part of the Alley. 

Yet.

She rounds another corner, and then another, and spots an alley hidden at a distance. She begins to make her way there, hoping that Mary had found refuge in this untouched expanse of abandoned storefronts, when the bright, red light of a spell promising pain whirs by her ear, too close for comfort.

Lily drops to the ground with a yelp, wildly grabbing at her robes until her fingers wrap around the comforting length of her wand. Without a second to spare, she twists her body around with her arm held out and immediately spots the cloaked wizard advancing towards her. 

Her mind instantly begins to comb through the many spells and incantations she had learned throughout the years in her schooling, but she had never found cause to use most of them outside of the safe confines of the classrooms with her Professors offering support and guidance from the sidelines.

There is no time to ruminate on the thought, because another spell is heading directly towards her. 

She jumps to her feet and shouts out the first spell that comes to mind. She feels an overwhelming sense of relief as it collides with the one bearing her way, and suddenly she finds herself locked in a duel; one side infinitely more experienced than the other.

Her defence is weak, clumsy against his deliberate and graceful movements, but she is holding her own, barely that, which means she could possibly walk away from this alive, if not without a few injuries littering her body.

Until his advances become more complex, more aggressive, and suddenly Lily is not so sure.

And when he yells out one particular curse, that very one that is so unlawful, so cruel, so inhumane that it has been deemed unforgivable by those that govern this world, she finds herself paralyzed, frozen in space and time, her body numbed and her mind vacant of any defence that would save her from the fate this curse promised.

Because there is none.

It is surely as little as a few seconds that pass, but it feels like an eternity as Lily watches its lightening approach, entirely helpless against its power.

And then she hears her name yelled loudly, sounding far away to her ears but also close by. She suddenly feels a force against her body, shoving her roughly to the ground as the green light whizzes above her only a second later and collides with the wall of a shop a few feet away.

It takes her a moment to catch her breath and open her eyes. Grey eyes, widened in alarm and swirling with terror, stare back at her, and for once in the six years she has known him she has never felt more relieved at his presence.

“Black!” His name escapes her lips in a breath of disbelief. Her chest heaves up and down as she attempts to catch her breath, his own, resting above hers, matching her pace. “Where the hell did you come from?”

He gives her a grim smile, “I saw that blighter follow you and knew you’d need me to save your arse.” He pushes up onto his elbows and rolls over to his side with a groan, “You always did attract the nutjobs, Evans.”

Lily lets out an astonished laugh and brushes a hand down her torso and legs, feeling aches all over her body. “Bloody hell, I really thought I was dead.” She lifts her head and turns in the direction of the cloaked figure, only to find him unconscious and sprawled out on the ground a few paces away. “What did you do to him?”

“Stunned the bastard.” He groans again as he pushes to his feet and offers her a hand. She takes it with a grateful smile and allows him to haul her up. His eyes scan her up and down, no doubt looking for any injuries she sustained in the fall, and lands on her bloodied forehead. He grimaces as he reaches for her face and tilts it up with both hands. “Was this from m–”

“No, no.” She pulls away from his touch and lightly touches the cut with a grimace of her own. “Got this when the attack first started. Knocked me right out.”

“I can heal it if you’d like.”

She shakes her head. “Not right now. I need to find Mary. She was gone when I regained consciousness.”

His face grows dim. “Right. She’s not very likely to fight back in a situation like this, is she?” 

"No,” Lily replies grimly, shaking her head with worry. “No, she’s not.”

“Alright.” He nods resolutely, glancing around them quickly before settling his attention back on her. “Better stick together then, Evans, which means you’ll have to tolerate my presence for a little bit longer, as much as it might pain you.”

She begins to follow him as he charges past the unconscious figure, and quickly falls into step beside him. “Believe me, Black, as much as I dislike you, I’ve never been more relieved than I am right now to see that ugly mug of yours.”

He glances at her sideways with a sardonic grin, “that must have taken a lot out of you to admit.”

She returns his grin half-heartedly. “Never thought I’d utter those words, honestly. But I will say, it’s nice to have you by my side rather than facing the end of my wand for once.”

He barks out a laugh, “I’ll agree to that. You’ve got a vicious hand.”

They walk on in silence, the sound of battle echoing over from the main street, although it sounds like it has dwindled down some, when a thought crosses Lily's mind. “Where’s Remus? Wasn’t he with you?”

He clutches his hand tighter around his wand as a sound erupts some distance away and tilts his head towards the center of the carnage. “Back at Madam Malkin’s. He’s helping her guard a group of third years until the Aurors arrives.”

She glances at him with a questioning look. “Why aren’t you with him?”

“Came to look for you and MacDonald. I drew the short stick, unfortunately.” He smirks at her teasingly. 

She rolls her eyes, yet she can’t help but feel a sense of immense gratitude at their surprising show of concern for their safety.

They had bumped into one another nearly an hour before everything fell to chaos, and she distinctly recalls the snarky banter she and Black had exchanged during their short meeting inside the bookstore. She only remembered seeing Remus and Black, and she couldn’t help but ask, “What about Potter and Pettigrew? Are they hurt?”

He chortles lightly as they reach an alley and glance inside only to find it empty, and continue on their way. “Concerned for James, are you? Evans, you cheeky thing, all those passionate tiffs were really foreplay for you, weren’t they?”

Lily gives him an incredulous look and shakes her head, “First of all, just because we don’t get along does not mean I want him to be harmed. Or killed, at the very least. And second of all, I asked about him and Pettigrew. Are you suggesting I want to shag Peter as well?”

He lifts his hands up in surrender. “Whatever you say. And to answer your question, James and Peter aren’t here. Lucky for them, they decided to sit this trip out, since they're both still suffering from our celebrations of the New Year last night. Thought I’d tag along with Remus and keep him company. Bloody unfortunate that my act of kindness coincided with a Death Eater’s attack.”

“I hate to admit it, but I’m glad it did, otherwise I’d very likely be dead from that killing curse.”

“That you would be.” He gives her a piercing look, the light amusement fading from his face. “Gave me a fright, freezing the way you did. I didn't think I could get to you in time. You really need to work on your reflexes, Evans.”

She sighs heavily with a nod, “I know. I don’t know what came over me. I was doing just fine up until that moment, but when I saw the killing curse, my entire body just… I was paralyzed. I just felt so helpless against it.” 

“Well, you better fix that and fast, because these attacks are becoming more and more frequent and next time I won’t be around to save your behind.”

“I know. I jus—” Her words are interrupted as a spell hits her back, and suddenly she’s falling to the ground for the third time in the span of what must’ve only been twenty minutes. Her ankle twists painfully beneath her, and with a cry of pain she throws her hands to catch her fall. She hears a crack as her left arm barely manages to catch her weight. The swift pain that courses from the very tips of her fingers and up her arm is so severe, so excruciating, so blinding, she wills herself to black out. 

And a moment later, as Black calls out to her before his voice is abruptly cut off, she does.

Lily’s not sure of how much time has passed when she comes to once again, her eyes blinking open to the glaring light of the sun. There is a loud ringing in her ears, and her head is still throbbing, but this time it’s more prominent, pulsating within her skull at an alarming rate.

Huffing out a dense breath, she struggles to sit up, but her head, her entire body really, feels too heavy to move. After a momentary fight between her head and her body, she pushes through the aches and drives her palm against the cobbled ground, crying out in pain as the weight falls into her left wrist. She lifts up a hand to block out the sunlight and gazes at her surroundings as the confusion in her head begins to clear up.

Her senses are slowly coming back to her, and the ringing is beginning to dissipate to a low pitching noise, and that’s when she hears it.

Loud, heart-wrenching screams of pain, only a few feet away.

She slowly, painful forces herself around, and a loud gasp escapes her at what she finds.

Sirius Black is on his knees, palms pressed to the ground as his back arches downward. His head is drooped between his shoulders, but his screams… his screams seem to radiate off his body from every crevice.

Her eyes dart to the individual standing with his back to her, wand affixed steadily on Sirius. And immediately, Lily knows she is witnessing firsthand what she had only ever read about; the torture curse, a tool only the most sinister of wizards are known to use. One that would get you a one-way ticket to Azkaban.

She knows she needs to intervene; knows that the longer he is under this curse, the excruciating pain no words are able to describe will drive him to insanity, but she’s incapacitated. Not only is her wrist most likely broken, but her ankle had twisted in her fall as well. She could barely hold herself up, let alone defend her classmate and fight another duel. She would most certainly be defeated within minutes, if not seconds.

She is essentially useless.

But she has to do something.

She searches the ground frantically for her wand and finds it by the doors of an abandoned storefront.

Too far out of her reach.

Tears prickle her eyes as Sirius continues to cry out, his screams becoming hoarse and garbled as though there is liquid down his throat.

She glances back at the wizard, hoping his focus is trained entirely away from her, and uses her uninjured arm to haul herself backwards towards her wand. She stops, makes sure he hadn’t noticed her movement, and hauls herself another pace, and then another, and one more, until her wand is just out of reach. She leans backward as far as her aching back would allow, and stretches her arms wide, her fingertips just barely grazing the wooden grip. She leans further back, biting down the cry of pain as her ankle jolts against the ground, and finally it is in her head.

Without a single moment to spare, Lily twists toward the wizard and the spell erupts from her lips in a guttural cry, “EVERTE STATUM!”

An orange beam of light blasts out of the tip of her wand as the wizard’s focus finally breaks and he spins towards her, but his reaction is far too late, and before he could even utter a spell, hers hits its mark in the middle of his chest. The sheer force of her casting sends him flying back meters away, only to slam him roughly against a wall. His body slides down in a slump and halts, unmoving, against the brick.

Her eyes immediately fly to Sirius. He is laying on his stomach, unnaturally still, and if it weren’t for the low, throaty groans he is emitting she would’ve thought he were dead. 

“Black?” She calls out gruffly, pushing herself to her one good wrist and forcing her body into an unbalanced crawl. She ignores the pain, ignores the throbbing that has once again picked up in her skull, and makes her way to his side as quickly as her battered body would allow. “Black,” She repeats again almost desperately, placing her hand on the back of his head.

“Merlin,” He groans, lifting his head lightly and meeting her frantic gaze. His body jerks with a spasm, and then rests back in place. Using his hands, he drives himself up onto his elbows, and then to his knees, only to slump back onto the heels of his feet. “Didn’t – didn’t think the pain would ever stop.” He mutters hoarsely, his red, moist eyes scanning her from top to bottom. He notes the hand cradled against her chest. “Are you hurt?”

Lily swallows roughly, willing the tears that are threatening to fall to remain at bay. “I’m—I’m fine. I wasn’t…Merlin, Black, you were _tortured_ and you’re asking if _I’m_ okay?!”

“Ah, well,” He shrugs, only to grimace at the pain the movement triggered. “You know me. I’m nothing if not a gentleman.” He smiles sardonically, but there’s no trace of amusement on his features.

She huffs out a doleful laugh, which quickly gives way to a sob, and shakes her head in disbelief. “You, Sirius Black… you are – unbelievable.”

He smiles in response, and then cracks his neck back and forth, no doubt attempting to undo the strain the curse caused to his body. “What happened?”

Her lips quivered as the images of the last few minutes replayed in her mind. “When I regained consciousness, you were, he was tort– you know… and I didn’t know what to do. Merlin, I didn’t know what to do!” The panic quickly rises in her voice and a tear finally slips down her cheek. She roughly wipes it away. “I had to make him stop or he would’ve tortured you to insanity!” He nods gently, something she never would've expected from the typically impassive, almost cold, wizard, reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze, silently telling her to continue. She inhales deeply to calm down even as the tears continue to fall, “I – I blasted him with an Everte Statum. It must’ve been a strong one because he flew through the air. He’s right there against that wall. I think I knocked him out.”

Sirius follows her finger to the wizard collapsed against the wall and whistles lightly. “Blimey, Evans. That’s a good distance away. You sure you just knocked him out?” He jokingly mumbles. Without waiting for a reply, he slowly makes his way to his feet, face contorting in pain with every movement. 

He offers her a hand and Lily silently takes it, ironically noting that they had done the very same thing not more than fifteen minutes earlier, and allows him to pull her up.

“Can you walk? I heard a crack when you fell.” He asks as he places a hand around her forearm.

She grimaces, “That was my wrist, although I’m fairly certain my ankle is broken as well. I think I’ll manage well enough. Do you think the Aurors have arrived?”

He tilts his head to the side as though listening for any indication that they have, and it is then that she notices the sounds of battle had completely stopped. “I’m not sure, but we better get moving in case the Death Eaters are still here.”

He slips an arm around her waist and begins to haul her forward. Lily opens her mouth to tell him she could walk on her own, that he had endured just as much battering on his own body if not more, but his glare immediately shuts her up. Swallowing her words, she leans into him to remove the weight off her bad ankle and they begin moving towards the direction they were previously going when he abruptly stops.

“Everte Statum, you said?” 

Lily nods with a frown. “Yes. Why?”

He curses lightly under his breath and glares at the wizard. “That won’t keep him down for long. It knocked him out, but it’s not like Stupefy where he’ll need someone to rennervate him. We need to make sure the bastard is still here and incapacitated so that the Aurors can take him in and haul his arse to Azkaban.” 

Understanding dawns on her immediately. He could very well recover in minutes and come after them with a vengeance. “Bloody hell. Why didn’t I just stun him? That spell was the first thing I could think of.” She stares at him with trepidation before turning to Sirius. “So what do we do?”

He’s silent for a moment, thinking. “I can bind his wrists and ankles, and toss his wand far enough that he can’t get to it. Or I could stun him.” He pauses, and then glances at her. “You okay to wait here?” 

She nods her assent and he lets go of her gently, before rushing as quickly as he could towards the wizard. She watches from a distance as he leans down and grabs the fallen wand, and is beginning to point his own at the wizard’s chest when his entire body freezes.

Briefly, Lily thinks the Death Eater might’ve awakened already but his body is still unmoving. Her heart begins to pick up, coming to a low thundering in her chest as Sirius leans forward and places a hand around his neck, only to straighten up quickly and snap his head back to her, eyes widened in alarm. She could see, even from this far away, as he swallows thickly, glances back down at the body, and pockets his wand, tossing the wizard’s back on the ground beside him.

He spins to her, taking long, purposeful steps, and Lily fleetingly wonders how he had recovered so fast to be able to do so, but when she spots the expression on his face, she immediately comprehends that something is very wrong.

“Sirius?” She whispers, his name foreign on her tongue. “What is it? Did you – I didn’t see you cast anything.”

He inhales deeply as he halts right in front of her, clenching his jaw tightly and closing his eyes for a brief moment as he runs a shaky hand through his hair. He claps them over his face next and rubs the skin, before meeting her troubled gaze.

“Alright. Evans, I need you to stay calm, okay? This has just gotten a lot more complicated, and I really, _really_ need you to stay calm, alright?”

Her frown deepens as her heart picks up its pace, almost beating right out of her chest. The alarm in his voice is plainly evident despite his attempts to remain otherwise. “I – I don’t understand. Sirius, what’s going on?” 

“Alright, Lily?” He stresses, repeating his question and imploring her with his eyes. She slowly nods her head.

“Okay. Okay, I’ll try to stay calm.”

“The blast, it – you killed him, Lily. He’s dead.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is greatly appreciated and fuels my motivation to write so please please leave me a review with your thoughts!! x
> 
> You can also find me on Tumblr: marzi-writes =) come chat with me!


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